The present invention relates to an edible food container and to a process of making a frozen edible product and especially to a process and container for frozen ice cream yogurt and the like.
In the past, frozen or partially frozen products, such as ice cream, yogurt, ices, and sherbets, have been frequently served in edible containers, such as cones. The edible cones typically are in the shape of a hollow cone but some cones have been provided with a flat bottom. The cones frequently have waffling on the exterior side thereof and are typically made using heated platens or dies to cook a batter applied thereto. The batter is generally made using a wheat flour along with an oil, sugar, water and sometimes egg. Once the cones have been cooked, they are fragile and easily broken so they must be packaged in a manner to avoid breakage. Prior cones have worked well in the industry providing an easy hand grip for holding the cone and a convenient large opening for dispensing a semi-frozen ice cream or yogurt thereinto or for the placing of a scoop of frozen ice cream on the top thereof. The cones have the disadvantage of not being able to sit on a flat surface even though cones have been devised which have a flat bottom and provide an easier support. The cones have also had the disadvantage of being difficult to dispense from vending machines. It has been suggested to have an ice cream vending machine which dispenses a cone and then fills the cone and also to dispense a cone prefilled with an ice cream product. Prefilled cones are typically packaged in a package to prevent damage in dispensing of the cone.
The present invention is directed towards an edible container, such as an ice cream or yogurt container, which can be easily filled with a semi-frozen product and frozen for dispensing from a vending machine but which provides a convenient flat bottom which is more stable than a truncated cone-type ice cream cone.
Prior U.S. patents directed towards ice cream cones and the like include the U.S. Patent to Davis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,994, for a cone package which is a package for ice cream cones including a pair of generally rectangular complementary panels made of an expanded foam plastic material with each panel having a pocket which corresponds in shape to the shape of a number of nested ice cream cones. In the patent to Weinstein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,795, a frozen confection and packaging module includes a serving kit and package for confections and includes an unfilled ice cream cone nested in the bottom of a shaped conical jacket which is scored for separation along an annular line located below the rim of the ice cream cone. The upper end of the cone jacket is shaped to receive a snap-on lid. In the Selbak patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,286, an edible handheld food product is provided which may be used as a container for ice cream or other frozen confections. It is formed from a shell of baked cookie dough. In the Sato patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,457, an ice cream cone is disclosed which comprises a holding part, a gripping part, and at least two vertical wall surface parts of the shape of an inverted triangle. In the patent to Ito, U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,656, a heated food base is formed by heating a batter which is obtained by kneading wheat flour and oil, sugar, water, and an edible surfactant, such as egg, which is poured onto a heating plate and spread thereon for making a cone-type edible vessels. The Ito patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,672, is a method for producing an edible container, such as a cone, cup, or dish, for a frozen confection, such as ice cream, and in which the edible container is in the shape of a waffle cone. In the Giuseppe patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,301, a process for producing different shaped waffle products and especially conical ice cream cones includes introducing batter between dies and counter dies having a high thermal conductivity in cooking the batter thereon. The Mathes et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,150, is for an ice cream cone having an imprinted band.
The present edible food container is also a waffle cone-type product which is shaped for being filled with a frozen ice cream or the like which, and when placed in a vending machine, supports itself with a flat bottom and in a nested arrangement with a concave curved side of one container nested in a convex curved side of the next container such that as each front container in a line is dispensed. The other nested containers tend to maintain themselves in a dispensing line.